Tungsten-Doping-Induced Surface Reconstruction of Porous Ternary Pt-Based Alloy Electrocatalyst for Oxygen Reduction

Wenzhe Tu, Kai Chen, Lujun Zhu, Huachao Zai, E. Bin, Xiaoxing Ke, Changfeng Chen, Manling Sui, Qi Chen, Yujing Li*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

66 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Surface engineering has been found to be effective in promoting the catalytic activities of noble-metal-based nanocatalysts. In this contribution, by using the PtCu x Ni ternary alloy nanocrystal (NC) as the model catalyst, a surface tungsten(W)-doping strategy, combining a surface oxidative acid treatment protocol, can effectively boost the electrocatalytic activities of the NCs in oxygen reduction reaction. The W-doped PtCu x Ni alloy catalysts show obvious enhancement in electrochemical surface area and mass activity and slightly enhanced specific activity compared with the undoped catalyst. Based on the experimental evidence, it is proposed that the W doping involves a surface reconstruction by first removing the surface Pt atoms from the NC and then reducing them back to the surface. The existence of surface Ni atoms may be crucial in promoting the catalytic activities possibly through their electronic interactions to the active sites. The durability of the W-doped PtCu x Ni catalysts is also enhanced possibly due to the pinning effect of surface W atoms. Therefore, the surface engineering of PtCu x Ni ternary alloy by W atoms can effectively modulate its activity and durability.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1807070
JournalAdvanced Functional Materials
Volume29
Issue number7
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Feb 2019

Keywords

  • oxygen reduction reaction
  • platinum
  • surface doping
  • surface reconstruction
  • ternary alloy

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